Monday, January 4, 2010

Harvest Monday - 4 January 2010

We have been experiencing a nor'easter these last couple of days so we are now buried in another foot of snow. It is looking like another snowy winter. So the first Harvest Monday of the year is not giving me any harvests. I do have two kale plants out there or I think I do. I can't see them any more but I have faith they are still out there. I ought to pick them during the next thaw. Last year we never got one and stayed locked in snow all winter long. That was really unusual for us.

I have been using up my preserved food. Some things are starting to run low. I have one potato left. We had roast beef one night which required baked potatoes. Roast beef only comes out when my daughter is home. Then the next day I made beef stew with the left overs which took most of the rest of the potatoes. I go through things so much faster when my kids are home from college. From the garden: potatoes, carrots, onions, dried thyme.

Soups have been the order of the day for lunches. Besides stew I made a nice bean and ham soup from the leftover Christmas ham. I usually make soups just for me as most of my family won't eat bean or vegetable soups. But my son is home and he loves such food. From the garden: onions, garlic, dried parsley.

I used the last of my farmers market apples in an apple cake for breakfast Saturday morning. I grate my apples as opposed to chopping them. My family prefers to not have chunks in their cake, but they love the taste. From the October farmers market: apples, homemade applesauce.

If you would like to help me believe that harvests still exist, put your name and URL into Mr. Linky below. It doesn't matter how big or small your harvest is. If you have had a harvest this last week, show us and join in!

Christina, lol yup the west coast was probably still awake when the post was scheduled to go up. I always wonder when I really ought to schedule the post to go up. "Monday" happens at different times around the world.

Charlotte, thanks

mothernaturesgarden, I haven't had a blackberry pie since I was 8. When I was little we lived next to a patch and I picked them so my mom would make pie.

henbogle, all we seem to have for lunch anymore are beans or soup (often with beans). I even went to a brunch yesterday and brought homemade bean dip. I think it is all I want to eat in the cold.

The Mom, I have to make more zucchini bread. I usually keep some in the freezer so I can just zap a piece in the microwave but I've run out. The apple cake doesn't last long enough for that.

The harvest meals are a wonderful substitutions for the "harvest" itself. We are going through the frozen diced red peppers fairly quickly. I have just a bit of them left. I still have a goodly amount of green diced peppers - but the red ripe ones are my favorite and they go fast. I have one full box of potatoes left but am having to pace the usage so they will last longer.

Sounds like you are having a real winter this year. We started out with unusual cold but it has since moderated considerably. So much so that I was able to get outside in the garden yesterday and do some work in one of the beds. Heaven.

Zucchini bread! I almost forgot that I've got a stash of grated zukes in the freezer - I'm pulling some out right away. The stew looks so warming. It may not be as cold here as what you're enduring, but it's cold enough to have soup on a regular basis. Hope you get to check on those kale plants soon. Stay warm!

As nice as it is to have a few things in the garden rightr now, I can't wait to be able to have some stored veggies next winter. Hopefully, the blight won't be so intense this year. It's great that your potatoes have lasted this long.

Daphne, you're make 'n my mouth water! Yummy photos! We are in stew and soup mode as well- now if we can get a good source of grass fed beef, we're set! That and get our new garden up and running, of course. Happy gardening to you :)

kitsapFG, I'm not a fan of green peppers myself (well except chilies). I love the red ones. I was surprised about your weather. You had a cold spell about like us, but for us it was normal.

Granny, OK you come right over. I still have some stew left in the freezer, but I think my son might eat it today.

Michelle, zucchini bread and soups are what I grow zucchinis for. I so rarely eat them sliced. I grate most of them for the freezer.

Thomas, hopefully we won't see blight either at all or in the fall like normal years. Last year was very weird. I'm a bit worried about people letting their overwintered potatoes grow. I hope everyone knows enough to weed them out.

Tessa, I wish the place I bought my hamburger from sold more than just ground beef and stew meat (I don't use stew meat for stew, I use leftovers). I would have loved to have a nice grass fed roast and steaks in the fridge for my daughter.

prue, you made up for it with the nectarines. If I get any land (which right now isn't looking likely) when I move I'm planting apples and either nectarines or peaches.

The weather down here is just crazy too... very, very cold for us on the Gulf Coast. We rarely have temps below 32 degrees F and this week we're having lows in the teens...

I've harvested once from my inside lettuce growing under lights. The salad was awesome! I just harvested more again this morning too. I will be having it for lunch and maybe some for dinner tonight. I harvested enough that 3/4 filled a gallon ziploc freezer bag :-)

Your apple cake looks so good! It would really go well with my cup of coffee this morning!

Daphne, your pics are making me hungry! Do you have the recipe for the apple cakes? I made pancakes the other day and grated the apples into the batter instead of dicing, it was quite nice. I am hoping for a harvest late next week when we get a thaw. It has been so cold here everything is freeze dried at the moment.

About Me

I've been gardening for almost three decades now, ever since my husband and I bought our first house. Every garden has been different. The first was small and the soil was almost pure sand. The second was larger and I had heavy clay. The third and current one which is just outside of Boston, is by far the largest even though the lot is by far the smallest. Since we bought the house new, we designed the landscaping ourselves, and the soil we added was fairly good. My challenge here is the location. We are so close to our neighbors that their houses can shade the garden.